Movie Review: All the World is Sleeping

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All the World is Sleeping is a highly affecting look into the self-destruction of addiction.
by Jeremy Fogelman

Cast: Melissa Barrera, Kristen Gutoskie, Lisandra Tena, Luis Bordonada, Jackie Cruz, Jorge Garcia, Drama
Rating: ★★★

Drug abuse is a tricky thing to show on screen, because like war, it’s easy to glamorize it or show it as something cool or at the least, sometimes worth the hassle. Even shows like Breaking Bad very rarely showed the actual victims of addiction, eliding the true cost of the drug dealing actions. Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream is perhaps the best example of a true “don’t do drugs” movie, giving us both how it might get there but also how it may spiral out of control. In a way, every anti-drug film is trying to reach that high.

All the World is Sleeping comes from writer/director Ryan Lacen and stars Scream VI actress Melissa Barrera as young mother Elena, although she prefers to go by the name Chama (which is sort of like a name in English being “Girlie”). The character is a composite of seven real world mothers battling addiction, although we don’t really get details of them in the movie past a shoutout in the credits.

Chama is currently trying to raise her daughter Nevaeh in a very troubling situation -- she’s addicted to opiates, and might have some prior criminal activity, although the specifics aren’t spelled out. It’s clear how much Chama adores her daughter, but she isn’t very responsible, leading to friction with her sister, who she has been living with.

Her best friend Toaster (Jackie Cruz from Orange is the New Black) is supportive in both positive and negative ways -- she always listens and offers emotional support, but then later she might assault a stranger on the bus for being rude to them. Chama hits rock bottom when she passes out at a children’s birthday party and gets sent to the hospital, where she is shocked to discover she’s pregnant.

Suddenly CPS is paying attention and Chama must attend addiction sessions with other addicts, introducing some interesting other characters, including Nick (Jorge Garcia from Lost) as an empathetic, wise friend who had a violent, troubled past giving him insight into his present.

The movie shows Chama’s struggle in an immersive way, showing her addiction in auditory and visual trip-like imagery, intentionally muddling our perception of her reality, while sometimes dipping out to see actual reality to contrast against her troubled inner world. These scenes are particularly well done, handling the mixing up of past and present in effective ways to gain insight into her pain and complicated feelings with her past (like how she met her daughter’s father).

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Melissa Barrera is really great here, able to give her character life and joy when it rarely comes into her life, but also great in the dead-eyed, strung out world she disappears into. Jorge Garcia was the true heart of Lost and he’s immediately a warm presence here too, easily helping us understand how he could be so effective as a helping hand among his fellow addicts.

Due to the nature of the subject matter, it’s not the easiest movie to watch, although it’s not as difficult as Requiem was (few things are) -- but it’s a great insight into the all-too-common situation of pregnant women or mothers with drug problems. A way to provide empathy to those easy to dismiss or ignore, and a way to show that it’s a lifelong fight to stay alive and whole. The world may be sleeping but the movie shows it sometimes is possible to wake up.

All the World is Sleeping has a run time of 1 hour 50 minutes and is not rated. The film is available on digital platforms.